The Unchanging Wind
by Fujiwara Yuriko
Summary: [SasuSakuIta] Sasuke has abandoned Konoha for power. Sakura has given up on him. He has returned, asking help in his revenge...? And what does really go on in Itachi's mind? R
1. Prologue

**Author's Notes: **Okay…this is my very first SasuSaku fic…and I'm so excited! Other pairings: NaruHina, ShikaIno, LeeTen…I was always thinking about making a SasuSaku, and I'm working on a Hinata centered fic as we speak…I got tired of making OC fics because I hate making up stories already, so far this is only a prologue and the next chapter is kinda sucky so I'm still working on it. Oh yeah, I've done an almost complete recap of episode 109, exact lines and everything, even the actions, except for the thoughts. I didn't start it at the beginning because…well because…heck it was too much for me to describe, anyway here's a prologue.

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"**Prologue: The Sound's Invitation (Recap of Episode 109)"**

Night time, Uchiha Sasuke was in his room, packing all necessities. Once all was in place, he took one last look at his sole photograph in his room. In the photograph, he stood on the right, glaring at the blonde shinobi who was glaring back at him; in the back was a male jounin whose hands were placed on his and Naruto's. Finally, in the middle, stood a pink haired girl who had her usual happy-go-lucky smile, the annoying girl whom always greeted him in the morning with her high-pitched voice.

_We will all lead different paths…_as this went through his mind, he slowly placed his hand on the frame of the photograph and laid it face down.

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A young female shinobi walked home that night, half way there, her continuous thoughts about her only love, Uchiha Sasuke grew stronger and stronger that night. In her head, Naruto's words appeared.

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"_Don't worry, about it!" he said looking up from his ramen bowl "Sasuke won't accept that bastard's invitation, he doesn't need to do that since he's really strong!"_

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_Sasuke-kun is strong…but…_she wanted to make sure. She took flight and left for the other direction, her heart filled with hope that she might be able to catch up to him.

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A lonely night departed upon Konohagakure. Not even the wind could be heard throughout the night, except the hollow footsteps of a pink haired kunoichi and a vengeful raven haired shinobi. Sakura walked upon the path leading to the exit of Konoha, only to stumble upon someone whom she wasn't surprised to see, Uchiha Sasuke. She watched him walking upon this path, the path of no return, once he passed this, there was no turning back.

He stopped in his tracks, she knew he was leaving, she knew he could be gone forever, and he spoke, the sound of his voice felt like a saving sound of life before death.

"What are you doing wondering around here at night?" he asked her coldly.

"Because you need in order to get out of the village you have to take this road" she said. He began walking again; he passed her completely ignoring the sad look in her eyes, eyes that were pleading for him to stay.

"Go back home and sleep" was all he said to her as he walked further along that road.

"Why…?" she whispered as a single tear rolled down her cheek. She turned around, tears streaming out of her eyes.

"Why don't you tell me anything?"

He kept moving forward.

"Why do you keep silent like that?"

He wasn't stopping.

"Why won't you say anything to me…?"

"Why do I have to tell you anything?" he said in angry and annoyed voice as he stopped in his tracks, still not looking back at the girl who's tears were strolling down non-stop.

"It's none of your business" he said coldly "Stop concerning yourself about what I do"

Silence.

She forced a fake smile, and looked at the man who did not even bother to look back at her. He already knew she was crying, why he knew, nobody knows.

"You've…always hated me right?" she said, the fake smile hurting her even more than her tear-filled eyes "Do you remember…the day when we became genin and our three-member team was first chosen?"

"…………"

"That day, you and I were here alone, you got made at me remember?"

_**Flashback…**_

"_Oh yeah!" said Sakura, back when her hair was still long, she was talking about Naruto "See how he doesn't have parents right?"_

_He glared at her._

"_If you're alone your parents wouldn't get mad at you, that's why he's so selfish"_

_Leaves…wind carried the leaves upon the two beings, and a moment of silence dawned upon them._

"_The solitude…"_

"_What?"_

"_You can't even compare to it when your parents get mad at you" he said, her back facing her as the wind blew more._

"_What's the matter?" she had a confused look on her face when he said this._

"_You're annoying"_

_Leaves fell as Sasuke left without another word. Those words kept ringing in her ears, and pierced her heart like a blade._

_**End of flashback.**_

She smiled, hoping these could somehow trigger his mind and let him stay, or even care a little. Still, the tears kept falling.

Silence.

"I don't remember" he said coldly. These words struck her badly, she looked down as a tear fell on to the ground making s stain appear.

"I guess it makes sense…" she said in the most fake cheerful voice she could possibly make "That's something that happened a while back…But, that's the day everything started. You and I, also Naruto and Kakashi sensei…"

_**Flashbacks…**_

_The day they started the bell training with Kakashi._

_When they practiced molding chakra together under a tree on a sunny weather._

_When they were assigned their first C-Rank mission to the Hidden Mist, along with Tazuna._

_When everything was joyful, and happy…back when they could smile and run together happily. Naruto…Sasuke…Kakashi…and Sakura._

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"The four of us completed a number of missions together…they were tough and a lot of work…"

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_When they were in Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto was trying to look into Kakashi's Icha Icha Paradise book, while Kakashi was pushing his head away. Sakura and Sasuke were giving them a weird look._

_Plus, when Naruto tried it again while Kakashi was up a tree reading it, and Naruto tried attacking him with force, but ended up having his head smashed on the branch by Kakashi, Sakura laughed silently while Sasuke said "Tsh"._

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"But…"

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_Another flashback, they were all lying on the grass under a night sky. She was happy…_

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"…above all…"

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_**End of flashbacks.**_

"It was fun!" she smiled, tears still strolling.

Silence.

"I know about your clan…but revenge…" she said as the clouds slowly covered the moon, letting darkness descend "That won't make anyone happy…no one…neither you…nor I…"

Silence.

"Just as I thought"

"Huh?"

"…I'm different that you guys. I walk a different path than you guys" he said, back still turned to her "I tried to think that it was my path to do things we've done up until now. The four of us did things together, but my heart decided on revenge in the end. That's my purpose in life"

"……"

"I can't become like you or Naruto"

"Are you going to choose to be alone again!" she yelled "On that day, you taught me solitude was painful!"

"I understand that so well now…" tears flowed greater than a river, it fell harder than a waterfall "I have a family and I have friends, but if you're gone…to me…it'll be the same as being alone…"

Hearing these words made him recall their happy picture together, this made him start regretting…but…he has chosen this path, and no one, not even her, could ever stop him from turning back.

"From here on…a new path will open for all of us" he said. Sakura took a step forward, trying to avoid to look up as her emotions took over her.

"I…! I love you so much!" she practically yelled this "If you stay with me, I'll make sure you won't regret it! Everyday will be happy, we'll definitely be happy…I'll do anything for you! So…please stay here with me! I'll help you with your revenge. I'll do something! So please stay here…with me…"

The moon began to appear again, moonlight shone upon them both.

"If you won't stay…take me with me with you" she cried furiously again, Sasuke stood there silently. Her sobs became stronger, until…she heard his voice.

He turned to look at her, his smirk plastered on his face "You really _are _annoying"

He turned around and started walking away from the village again.

"Don't go!" she screamed in desperation "If you do I'll scream-!"

In a blink of an eye, he was behind her. Wind blew against the two, he slowly whispered in her ear…

"Sakura…thank you"

Wind.

A painful feeling shot through Sakura's back as she suddenly fell unconscious; he picked her up and laid her on the bench they once sat on. Though she tried as hard as she could to stop him, he never turned back for a second thought. His mind was made up, and now outside the village, he has crossed the point of no return.

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**KLiC 015: **So? How'd you like it? I really had to watch the episode while making this, and its really stressful since the CD won't work in the computer, so I had to go all the way to my room which is like five feet away from the computer, and press play, pause, memorize line and action, type line and action, and to the same thing again and again until I finished it up to here. So how about a little consideration and send me a review or two nee?

**KLiC:** Naruto! Go get the popcorn!

**Naruto:** I thought you said chocolate ice cream!

**Gaara:** You must've been deaf.

**Ed: **Throw it away!

**Ino: **Shove it down your pants.

**KLiC: **is watching the scene

**Naruto:** I can't throw away food! Especially down my pants!

**KLiC:** I have a very good suggestion…

**R&R!**


	2. 1st Plot: Trouvez

**Author's Notes (READ THIS, IT'LL ONLY WASTE 15 SECONDS OF YOUR LIFE): **Thanks so far, I really appreciate the support some of you have given me! I'll be writing the chapter in French or Japanese, or whatever language I can think of, because I want to, even though I'm not any of those. I'm only Filipino…hehehe… (lol). I hope some of you will like this chapter. I re-edited the whole thing to make it sound better. There's possible ItaSaku in the future chapters, maybe, I don't know. I'll just see where inspiration leads me…and if you guys want ItaSakuSasu or NejiSakuSasu just say so, and I'll see what I can do. PS: Although this is only re-edited, you have to read it because more than ¾ of it has been changed, the beginning wasn't changed though. **ALSO YOU NEED TO READ THIS CHAPTER SINCE I'VE CHANGED IT A LITTLE.**

**Thanks Reviewers!**

**shinobi-Sakura: **Thanks for the first review! I really had to watch the whole episode again on a CD and type out all the lines and actions…really frustrating since it won't play in the computer so I had to use the TV and VCD player and stuff, then go back to the computer to type it out…I'll check out your fics soon, don't worry!

**neu chi no nai u:** Thanks!

**susakuru: **Thanks, sure here's the update!

**neu chi no nai u: **Thanks, I didn't think it would be good…but I hope the re-edited version is nice enough…thanks for the review!

**els1321: **Okay, I'll let you read this…thanks for the review!

**Huntere: **Haha…thanks!

**sweet cherryblossom1: **Thanks for enjoying it!

**susakuru: **Thanks!

**kok: **Thanks, I'll try keeping it up.

**Fiona McKinnon: **I know…that's why I'm re-editing it…

**ms-thang: **Groovy? First time I heard someone review me like that…thanks for the review!

**ChErRyBlOsSoMs-FlOwErOfDeAtH: **Thanks! Here's the update!

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"**_Chapter One: Trouvez"_**

Seven years after that very incident, a lot of things have changed, seriously, a lot. For one thing, since Sasuke left, it has been found out that Ino had feeling for Shikamaru and was only pretending to like Sasuke to make him jealous, but this failed to all her efforts. They have only become a couple a year ago when Ino had finally admitted this to him, and now, they're a very happy married couple.

Another amazing incident, during the earlier years, Sakura has never given her heart to Naruto, who by the way, finally opened his eyes to a female Byakugan user, Hyuuga Hinata. They went out for a few years, and eventually, also became a happily married couple. Neji on the other hand, amazingly didn't end up with Tenten; he chose a different path as well, becoming an ANBU captain. Lee became an amazing jounin, but something unexpected did happen, he ended up with Tenten, but the both of them are still boyfriend and girlfriend.

As for Sakura…training with Tsunade, defeating an Akatsuki member, all of this happened so fast. Now, ate the age of 20, she has become an ANBU member. She has chosen the path to become stronger, in her own way of course. She has prioritized her training and ninja skills more now, although…_he_ still remained in her mind even until now. But she didn't let that bother her, for all she knew…he was as good as dead now.

Orochimaru's Body Transfer technique…this can only be done every three years. Their mission five years ago, along with Sai and Yamato, had been a complete failure. More than three years have already passed, for all she knew Sasuke's body is being used by Orochimaru in different ways. She has already accepted the fact that, he's gone, for good. Yet…to see him one more time, would be like her only fantasy right now. As much as she wishes this, fantasies will always remain fantasies, no matter how hard you wish for them to come true.

And so the tale begins…

Sakura was running through a dark forest, her breathing was hard and sweat ran down her temples. Her hot saliva burned her mouth as her legs carried her as far as they could. She was tired, dizzy, but she needed to catch up…she needed to catch up to him.

"Sasuke-kun!" she yelled to the figure walking far away from her "Sasuke-kun! Please! Don't go!"

A pair of blood red eyes appeared; she stopped running and stared into those bloody red eyes which stared back at her. She felt frightened, she tried to reach for a kunai, but held shuriken holster disappeared from behind her. The figure moved closer, and closer. She moved as far as she could, but her legs wouldn't allow her. The moonlight shone upon the dark figure, the face of the man who left her years ago, was staring back at her. A smirk came from his lips, he looked hurt, depressed, distraught, and his smirk slowly disappeared. He tried telling her something, but no words came out.

"Sasuke-kun…!" she tried reaching out for him, but he seemed to be moving further and further away, until behind him, a giant snake wrapped around Sasuke and swallowed him alive, ignoring his painful screams. Sakura watched the awful scene, her scream was silent…

_Ring!_

Sakura slowly opened her eyes, the rays of the morning sun descended upon her drowsy eyes.

"Ugh…" she grumbled as she stood from her bed, she felt sweat drops on her forehead and wiped them away. She walked towards her mirror and saw herself, some of her pink hair was sticking to her forehead.

"That dream…" she said to herself _I've been having that dream for almost a month now…why won't it stop? For all I know, Sasuke-kun is already dead._

She looked at herself one more time in the mirror, she had grown more mature over the years. Her hair had grown to its original length, and she seemed to have grown into her abnormally large forehead. Her body has also matured, her once flat chest had grown a little, and there were curves around her. This attracted many suitors, but although she knew Sasuke's dead, she never answered any of them, not even one. For today, she had nothing to do, she and Ino promised to spend the day together anyway.

"What should I wear…" she said rummaging through her closet, she chose a white shirt combined with a red jacket and a dark blue skirt to top it all off. She tied her hair in a near ponytail as she went down to have some breakfast.

"What to eat, what to eat…" she cooked some pancakes, ate them and left.

"Ino-chan! Are you in here?" she said looking into the Yamanaka Flower Shop.

"I'm coming!" Ino's voice rang from upstairs. She came down after two minutes dressed in a purple spaghetti-sleeved shirt with blue jeans. Her blonde hair has also grown, but she still kept it in a high ponytail "Ohayo, Sakura-chan"

"Ohayo Ino-chan" said Sakura "You look beautiful today"

"Same for you" she said "Now, shall we?"

"Right" the two friends went out and were mostly just shopping around the village.

"Sakura-chan, you know you should really try answering one of your suitors" said Ino "I mean, I'm sure one of them has to be worth it"

"Ha, right…I'm an ANBU member now. I don't have time for such a thing" she said while looking through some shirts "Plus…I don't want to be in a relationship right now"

"You're just saying that" said Ino "Someday you'll find yourself falling head over heels for some guy out there. And what do you mean you don't have time for such a thing? Look at me, I'm a jounin instructor and I still have time for Shika-kun"

"You have an easier job, I have to always guard Tsunade with all of my power when I'm not on a day off" she said "And, I still have a part time at the hospital"

"Yeah, yeah…" Ino turned serious now "Sakura…I know you still care for Sasuke"

Sakura froze.

"I understand how you feel, but he's dead for all I know" she said "You should move and try looking for someone suitable for you. Naruto was a good start, but now he's learned to move on and married Hinata. Lee tried his best to win you, but in the end he ended up with Tenten…Sasuke isn't worth it Sakura…Open your eyes! Sasuke never even considered how you felt to be important!"

"What the hell do you know about how I feel?" she said coldly "Stop bugging me, because it's none of your business!"

Sakura walked away from Ino, frustrated and angry. Ino smacked her head and muttered to herself "I'll have to learn to keep my mouth shut next time…" she said _But, what I said was true. Sakura deserves better…I hate to see my best friend feeling this way all because some hot guy dissed her like that._

Sakura stomped her way through the crowds as she looked for a place to cool her head off.

_That Ino-pig, who does she think she is? She has no right to butt into my business saying what's right or wrong for me! I mean, I never said anything bad about her relationship Shikamaru or her freaking life!_ Her walk slowed down as she calmed down a little _But…she is right…I know I should move on, but even though it has been such a long time after that day, I still feel the same for him. Nobody can ever replace that…I think…Sasuke-kun…if only you hadn't left…if only you stayed with me…I meant it when I said I'd do anything for you…and I still would…if only you were here. Because, I still believe…somewhere, somehow…you're still alive…_

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In the hideout of Orochimaru, a bloody battle had just occurred. Sasuke has avoided becoming a container for Orochimaru for so long, he made different reasons for him not to become one, because he knew he could grow even stronger, and Orochimaru knew this and let it be. Sasuke has obtained many different levels of Sharingan, and has even mysteriously mastered Magenkyou Sharingan. This fight has been continuing for five days straight. And finally, after whimpering under Orochimaru, the time has come to be released from the curse.

"Sasuke…!" Orochimaru's cry echoed throughout the whole hideout "I gave you power…and this is how you've repaid me!"

"Hmph, as I said before, I never cared for you or what you could've done to me" Sasuke smirked out of the darkness "Did you really think, you could defeat an advanced Sharingan user?"

"I'll get you back…" Orochimaru did a bunch of hand seals and quickly tried doing the Body Transfer Technique.

"Too slow…" Sasuke quickly read this and cancelled it with the help of Sharingan. His final move _"Magenkyou Sharingan!"_

Orochimaru gasped, life was slowly being strained away from him. For now Sasuke was as strong as Itachi, the only person Orochimaru failed to defeat. He felt metal enter his body, blood was spat out from his mouth. The tang taste of it sent a message through his mind _I can't die…I worked too hard to obtain eternal life…I won't die like this!_

Too late…Sasuke's Kage Shuriken had sliced through Orochimaru's bare neck. For once in his life, he has been defeated, completely. The expert snake user, and the one who had invented the forbidden technique, has fallen. For now, the avenger has yet to finish his life long mission, to kill his only sibling.

_But first…_he thought _A little visit._

(AN: Okay, you can flame me for this part if you want to)

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Sakura opened the door to her house and slammed it shut behind her. She took off her jacket and went up to her room to lie on her bed. She got a pillow and placed it on top of her face, she breathed in the dust left by the pillow, yet ignored it. She took it off her face and looked up at her ceiling. The feeling of regret and guilt crept upon her, she had just scowled at her best friend, all because she let her emotions take over her, again. She lay on her side as she watched her clock move each second.

_If the second hand stopped…does that mean time has stopped for me? If time could only go back…_she though to herself as the memories of Sasuke started haunting her once again _Sasuke-kun…why am I so weak…?_

_**Flashback…**_

"_I understand how you feel, but he's dead for all I know" she said "You should move and try looking for someone suitable for you. Naruto was a good start, but now he's learned to move on and married Hinata. Lee tried his best to win you, but in the end he ended up with Tenten…Sasuke isn't worth it Sakura…Open your eyes! Sasuke never even considered how you felt to be important!"_

_**End of flashback.**_

"Ino-chan…" she felt dumb and stupid _She's right…Sasuke-kun could really be dead by now…I know deep in my heart I want to move on…but the other part still wants Sasuke so badly…If Sasuke-kun didn't go, what would have become of me? Would I still be that weak and helpless girl he hated so much?...It's no use thinking about what could've happened, its been done. Maybe Ino's right…maybe I should move on…But, do I still have the eyes to open to someone else?_

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**Four days later…**

Nothing out of the ordinary has happened in Konohagakure, yet. Sakura continued her missions, protected Tsunade, worked at the hospital, and visited her friends once in a while. The sun went up and down, the moon left and gone, the clouds appeared and moved, nothing wrong has been done. She was wearing her ANBU outfit, clad in black, sleeveless, and the ANBU tattoo on her right arm, and her hair was tied in a neat ponytail. She entered the Yamanaka Flower Shop, she took off her mask revealing her face. She found her friend waiting behind the counter in front. She approached her looking embarrassed to becoming to a store dressed like that.

"Ino-chan…I'm sorry for screaming at you like that the other day…" said Sakura as she apologized to her friend who was working in the flower shop "I lost control of myself, I'm really sorry"

"Its okay Sakura, nothing to worry about" said Ino "It was my fault for dictating you in the first place, I should've known better than to tell you what to do and what not to"

"No it's my fault…I wouldn't listen to reason…" said Sakura "I've decided, I'm going to move on and forget about what happened to Sasuke and I, he's not worth it"

"Sakura…"

"You were right…chasing after someone who is no longer here is really stupid" she said.

"Who're you gonna fall for then?"

"I don't know, I've only decided this few days ago" she laughed.

"Oh yeah, I have some really great news" said Ino slightly smirking "Guess what…Shika-kun is going to be a father soon…"

"You mean…?"

"Yup, I'm pregnant" said Ino "I only found out yesterday"

"Omigosh! This is big news!" said Sakura "Ino-chan, I'm so happy for you!"

"Thanks! I can't wait to find out if it's a boy or a girl!" the two friends hugged each other.

"Oi, what's all the noise down there?" a lazy jounin came down the stairs with his pinky finger in his ear "I hate a great nap you know…"

"Sorry Shika-kun…" the two friends let go of each other "I just told Sakura-chan about our baby!"

"Four days and she started babbling about it already…" said Shikamaru.

"I wish I could stay longer" said Sakura "But, I gotta go, see ya later"

"Bye!" said Ino.

"Yeah" replied Shikamaru lazily.

"Jaa nee" she left the flower shop and headed towards the Hokage's office.

(Jaa Nee: See ya)

She jumped from house to house on her way to her destination. She stopped for a while and stood in front of the Uchiha Manor. She looked at the yellow "Do Not Cross" ribbons tied to the front of the gate. She looked at it carefully and finally understood what Sasuke had said…

"We will all lead different paths…" she mumbled to herself _Sasuke-kun…I understand now. All these years the only man I ever wanted was you. I slowly understood, it was your choice to follow Orochimaru, and no one else's…I chose to follow Tsunade-shishou, the same way Naruto decided to follow Jiraiya-sama, the same way you followed Orochimaru. If we ever meet in the future, I know you won't be the same Sasuke I knew so many years ago…he's gone, far away…_

She stared for a while longer at what she dreamed to be her future home when Sasuke would marry her, of course this could happened only in her dreams. She looked down and finally realized her longing for Sasuke, it was useless and a completely worthless wish. She has been wishing for the same thing for more than seven years, but no good has come out of it. She thought she could've become stronger with Sasuke, and thought that the reason she has become stronger all these years was because of him. But the truth is, she did it all herself. What were all those years of longing? What were all those years of flowing tears for? What use did these feelings have if all they did was make her a distant woman to all the love surrounding her? He never even loved her back, not even a bit…It was time to move on, for a better chance at life. Sun shone from the sky as she looked up to the sky no longer haunted by her past, a brighter future was there for her…or was there?

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Sakura quickly went inside the Hokage's office, she had been summoned by the Hokage for a special mission as she had heard. She didn't think it was anything special, maybe they were to find someone, assassinate, nothing that could surprise her. Being the ANBU member she was, she knocked on the Hokage's door and said "Tsunade-shishou, it's me"

"Come in Sakura" said a voice from the other side of the door. She opened it and went inside; she closed the door behind her and found three other ANBU members in front of her, Aburame Shino, Hyuuga Neji, and Hyuuga Hinata.

"Sorry I'm late…" Sakura said smiling.

"It's alright Sakura" said Tsunade looking very serious "Now that the four of you are here, I have something very important to tell all of you"

The four made serious faces this time, if Tsunade was acting this serious, then something important might have just come up. Tsunade closed her eyes and opened them again, Shizune looked down as she held Tonton in her arms, she had the same expression as Tsunade.

"We have received urgent news from a Sound Nin…" she looked the four Anbus' expressions become alert "…but this group is not one of Orochimaru's, it is a rebellion against him who have lost someone important to them because of Orochimaru. They have sent us a message saying that Orochimaru, has died"

Those words struck the Anbu members hard. Orochimaru, dead? How…why…who? These were the main questions going through their minds at the moment. If someone did kill him, who could be powerful enough to do such a thing…?

"Also, it was received that when they found Orochimaru's body, he was brutally decapitated and badly wounded. He had kunai and shuriken all over his body. We have successfully captured all his subordinates, except for two, Uchiha Sasuke and Kabuto"

"No traces of them were found, and we have no clue where they are. Sasuke was no where to be found, I'm going to dispatch you four to find Uchiha Sasuke"

"Wait, don't you usually ask Naruto to come whenever there's a mission connected to Sasuke?" asked Neji.

"I would've considered Naruto for this mission; unfortunately he is away on another mission in Sunagakure" she said "Neji, since you're Anbu captain I'll assign you team leader"

"Hai" he replied.

(Hai-yes)

"I have heard that Uchiha Sasuke has been seen somewhere around the Hidden Mist. It's a start but we have to make sure. Bring Uchiha Sasuke back, alive. Fight if you must but bring him back here alive" she said "Anbu, disperse!"

"Hai!" the four disappeared out of the office and began their mission.

"Tsunade-sama…" said Shizune "Why did you use Anbu to find him? Simple jounins could've been used, why go this far?"

"Based from skills, our Anbu squad are some of the strongest from the jounins here. Plus…" she clenched her fists "If Uchiha Sasuke really did kill Orochimaru, then we'll need the best to capture him"

"Tsunade-sama, I understand…but…why did you put Sakura-san in the team?" asked Shizune.

"Why not?"

"I see…you also want Sakura to see Sasuke don't you?"

"It's like you can read my mind Shizune…" she said _Sakura…I'm giving you this one chance…_

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The four Anbu members dispatched from Konoha and began to hurry their way towards the Hidden Mist. They traveled on foot at first; they were to head to the docks to ride a boat going there since they needed to cross a sea to get there. They hurried as they jumped from tree to tree. Sakura's mind was confused, she had thousands of thought rummaging through her mind at the moment.

_This is strange…Tsunade-shishou could've used jounin to find Sasuke-kun, wait why am I still calling him Sasuke-kun…? I guess it turned into a habit…I guess she thought that if Sasuke-kun really did kill Orochimaru, then he might've been extremely strong at the time. So she assigned the strongest she had left in Konoha _she thought _If I do Sasuke-kun…it won't be the same…I won't run into his arms or cry…he won't feel anything for me anyway. But…I don't want to fight him…I don't have the heart to do it. If he was just another face then maybe I could fight him as much as all the people he was ever fought. Hopefully this'll successfully end, without a bloody ending…_

"Everyone…" Sakura came back from her trance when she heard Neji's voice "We're getting close to the docks, remember not to familiarize too much"

"Got it" they replied.

They leapt from tree to tree. Sakura's soul was now confused...is she excited or annoyed with this mission? What would happen if they see Sasuke? Would he still look the same? Will be the same person she met so many years ago? Will the Sasuke she knew even exist?

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**IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!**

Okay, I've had a really, really hard time deciding on this. First off, I wanted to do a love triangle in this, it's either ItaSakuSasu or NejiSakuSasu…you have to vote to tell which love triangle you love the most. Please send it to me as fast as you can, because this is very crucial, the whole story plot depends on your votes. There are different stories for each love triangle, please I really need your votes! Voting ends when Chapter 3 is up and when the votes are tallied!

PS: This is the reason why this chapter is so short...well for me. Because usually each chapter of my fan fics on Microsoft Word should be at least 15 pages long at minimum...I dunno where I got this habit but because of this problem I had to cut it short to only 9 pages...it hurts...

**Please vote for your fave love triangle, each love triangle has a different story. PLEASE I NEED IT! I CAN'T CHOOSE!**

Vote for either…

**Itachi x Sakura x Sasuke**

Or…

**Neji x Sakura x Sasuke**

Send me as much votes as you can. Whichever way you want to, but I'd like it if it's a review…remember why I did this…I CAN'T FREAKIN' CHOOSE! T.T

Signing out

KLiC 015


	3. 2nd Plot: Vitre

_**Thank you reviewers!**_

**els1321:** Okay…ItaSakuSasu…thanks!

**You Excellency: **Gee, thanks for the review! Okay…ItaSakuSasu…

**Fiona McKinnon: **Neji, got it. Actually incase you should know that I changed most of the second chapter. You'll see the results afterwards…

**Akagan: **Okay, thanks for the review!

**Saku-iimoto: **Okay, sure. Thanks for the review!

**xxRaikuxx: **Okay, thanks for the review! I got the votes almost ready…

**Hoishe: **Okay! I got it! Thanks for the review!

**sakura-nin: **Sure, here's my update!

**RoseWaters:** Well, I'm not so sure about that fight…but I have to be fair about the polls…sorry. Who knows…?

**SkySoul: **Cool, sure.

**Dark Angelic Kitty: **I don't speak French…hehehe…anyway your vote is in. I got it.

**RedWillow123: **Sure! I'll make it as long as you want….man I didn't know the last chapter was long…Okay, I got your vote! Thanks for the review!

**shinobi-sakura: **It's alright, thanks for the long review! I loved it a lot! And sure, I'll get your vote in. Plus, its okay because that was the same reason I updated late, stupid school…

**Bri:** Thanks, here's your update. Your vote's in already.

**Author's notes: **The votes are in, you've given me your comments and to those who voted for the loser side, I'm terribly sorry. The votes were given by family members, friends, chat mates, and reviewers. Now the results…

**Itachi x Sakura x Sasuke**_...20_

**Neji x Sakura x Sasuke**_...12_

No more changes will be made, the votes were given and there will be no change to it.

Thanks y'all! I really had a hard time deciding…and to those who voted for the NejiSakuSasu, I'm really sorry, it wasn't my fault. So I hope you'll keep on reading this even though you didn't get the triangle you wanted. But, I'll make it up to you guys by making them good friends, I hope that's good enough for you. So, on with the story!

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"_**Chapter Two: Vitre"**_

The four ANBU squad members reached the Konoha docks. Walking casually, they move towards their destination in secrecy, avoiding any unnecessary actions. It was nearing sunset, they boarded the ship with haste. Nighttime came, Sakura stood by the railing of the boat as she looked out to sea. She felt the relaxing and refreshing breeze of the sea wind as it blew through her cherry pink locks. Alone, she looked down on the water below her as if she were expecting something to pop out from underneath. Another reason why she didn't want to sleep yet, was because she was afraid of having _that_ dream again.

She took a long breath of air in and placed it back outside. She sighed heavily; it was hard to forget about Sasuke, especially now that they were looking for him. She knew her duties were futile, but she didn't have the heart to see Sasuke any day, any hour, any minute, any second, or any moment now. She wanted to go back to Konoha so badly now. She wanted to rest on her bed, in her home and live a normal day…but a normal day for a ninja was juts not possible. She stretched out her arms forward and turned to go to her room. When she turned, she saw Hinata coming up from below the ship.

"Sakura-chan…" she said as she approached her friend "Its getting late, what're you doing here?"

"I just thought I'd get some fresh air" she said "It feels so good up here…"

"Yeah it does…" Hinata stood beside Sakura as they both looked out towards the sea "Nee Sakura-san…"

"Yes?" she looked at Hinata with her sparkling green orbs.

"Right now we're on a mission to find Sasuke-san…" she started "…aren't you…affected at all?"

"Why would I be affected?" she smiled trying to hide her slight pain.

"We-well because…he's your old f-friend and te-teammate…and Naruto-kun told me h-he was your fi-first lo-lo-love…"

"…" she knew she was going to be asked this sooner or later "Well…the truth is…I'm really not so sure about this mission…I'm excited to see Sasuke-kun…but at the same time I don't want to. It sounds silly I know, but I'm really confused right now"

"Sakura-san…" she said "I understand how you feel…Sasuke-san never noticed how you felt for him, and then he left just like that. I felt the same whenever I saw Naruto-kun…"

"Hinata-chan, I understand what your trying to do. But, right now I guess the best thing to do is…when I see Sasuke-kun, it won't be the same. There's a high possibility we might fight, and in the end he'll even try to kill us…but…for some reason…I know believe I'll see him again. The things I've wanted to say to him, they've all disappeared. I'm trying so hard to give up on him, I guess this mission is a sign I can never move on…"

"Don't say that, it's your decision if you want to move on or stay in love with Sasuke-san, and nobody else's" said Hinata "If you love him then pursue it, if you're not so sure then decide, and if you're completely over him then just forget about him"

"Hinata-chan…" Sakura was surprised at Hinata's remark back then.

"Ah, gomen…" she said realizing she had said too much "I didn't mean to lecture you I just…"

"It's alright" said Sakura "You really helped me with what you said Hinata-chan"

"Sakura-san, you're welcome" she said as she held Sakura's hand "Let's go back down, you really gotta get some sleep if you wanna find Sasuke-san"

"Yeah, yeah…"

That night, Sakura had a hard time sleeping. Below deck she and Hinata slept in a double decked bed. Hinata took the bottom bunk while Sakura took the upper bunk. She stared at the ceiling as she felt the ship move around her. She didn't get seasick, she was sort of used to this. Her eyelids felt heavy, they started blocking her sight little by little, she wanted to fight back, bt in the end her heavy eyelids were heavier than her will right now.

_**Sakura's dream…**_

_This dream was different from her previous nightmares, this one seemed…happy. She was standing in a green field of gorgeous flowers. Around the wide field was a circle of cherry blossom trees. The clouds were big, white and fluffy, a beautiful sight to see in the sky. The sun shone brightly as she seemed to be dancing in the said field. She felt so light, as if the weight of the world disappeared from her shoulders. _

_Her clothes also changed, she was wearing a white summer dress with spaghetti straps, and her long hair flowed down her shoulders as she danced around in circles. Butterflies flew around her as she saw one lay softly on her hand. She looked at it admiringly; the butterfly suddenly flew away when another hand, which did not belong to her, suddenly held her hand. She looked up to see who it was, but the sun shone too brightly and blocked the man's face…_

_**End of her dream.**_

Sakura opened her eyes, letting in a little sunlight in. She saw that Hinata had already woken up, since her bed was fixed. She looked at her watch in her bag, she saw she had been asleep for only four hours since last night; she didn't sleep in or anything she just felt late since she'd usually wake up before anyone else. Plus, she was thankful it wasn't that dreadful nightmare she had been dreaming about for almost a month now. She fixed herself up and tidied up her bed. She tied her hair in a high ponytail and dressed up in her Anbu uniform. She put on her mask and closed the door behind her.

She passed by an open room and peeked inside, she saw her other teammates there, and they just started eating breakfast. It was a small rectangular table, Shino sat beside Hinata and Neji sat alone with no one beside him.

"Ohayo Sakura-san" greeted Hinata.

"Ohayo…" she said "Did I sleep long?"

"No, you woke up only a few minutes after me" said Hinata "C'mon sit down and have some breakfast"

"Yeah" she sat down beside Neji and began indulging in the food given to them, simple fried fish with rice and tea.

"The captain said we'll get there in two hours" said Neji "We'll have to move quickly, Sasuke might've gone somewhere else by now. Here's the plan, two of us will ask around if anyone has seen him, while two of us will search in the forest. We'll meet at the inn at twelve midnight if we've had no luck"

"Got it" said Sakura.

"Hinata and Shino will ask around the village, Sakura and I will look in the forests and the outskirts" he said "If we find him anywhere send, convince him to come back. If each of us isn't back by twelve then we'll search for you, understood?"

They nodded in agreement. Two hours went by smoothly, they didn't find any trouble on their way there. Once they came to the Hidden Mist, they thanked the people who had brought them there and left their things at the inn. Shino and Hinata started asking around and at the same time looking for any suspicious movements in case Sasuke might've transformed himself, or even changed his appearance. Alas, no one has seen him so far. Did you really think it would be that easy to find Uchiha Sasuke?

_We've been looking for five hours and no luck…_thought Hinata as she switched on her Byakugan while she was on the roof of a house. She searched the place thoroughly, she didn't see anyone who was in a henge form or disguised. _This is gonna be harder than I thought…_

Shino had no better luck, he was already asking people and commanding his bugs to look for him everywhere, and I mean everywhere. Every nook, cranny, even inside trashcans, as if Sasuke would be in there but they could not let even just one clue pass by them or else it would be futile. If only Naruto hadn't messed up their mission a few years back, the on in which a certain bug was found to find Sasuke and trace him easily, but he ruined it badly.

"Excuse me, have seen this person?" Shino asked a woman in a purple kimono and brown hair, she looked at Sasuke's picture, back when he was only genin.

"Hmm…no…but he's cute, why are you looking for him?" she asked.

"I'm afraid that's classified" he put the picture back in his pocket "Thanks for you help"

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Two certain ninjas leaped through the trees of the Hidden Mist, Neji and Sakura were looking for any traces for Sasuke, even just a small strand of hair. Neji had his Byakugan on at all times, Sakura used her summoned slug to find Sasuke (She also learned the summoning technique from Tsunade here, I know some of you know she didn't but let's just pretend she did). She had hoped to see him today, she didn't want to wait any longer…wait, she gave up on him right? Why would she be expecting to see someone she doesn't…care…about…She shook her head and ignored the thoughts her inner self was giving her. Neji signaled Sakura to stop, she saw this and stopped, they hid behind one tree each and next Neji signaled her to look forward. A few meters away from them, they saw two beings walking in their direction. Both of them were dressed in black cloaks and had red clouds printed on them…

_It couldn't be…_Neji thought as he used his Byakugan. He knew these people, the same people they were asked to watch out for when they became Anbu members…

_Akatsuki!_ Sakura slightly panicked, knowing these people were way beyond her capabilities. She hid behind the tree even more, fearing that Itachi may be on of those two, for she could never beat an advanced Sharingan user. Neji looked at her, she looked back at him as well, Neji's eyes told her something like _"Don't do anything, stay calm"_

She felt more comfortable seeing this from Neji's face. She calmed down a little and stayed down and tried to stay perfectly still, as much as she could. She felt their presence coming closer and closer, her skin began to show off major goose bumps as she felt the air from behind her neck…wait, behind her neck? She panicked and immediately looked behind her, she saw a dark figure sitting behind her from where she was hiding, she backed away and looked to where the Akatsuki members were headed, but they were gone. She looked in front of her, the dark figure had a long black cloak and a hood covering his head and face, so she could barely make out the features.

"Who are you!" she screamed, she looked to her side and saw Neji was also gone "What have you done to my friend?"

"Hm" he had a familiar voice to Sakura, but it didn't matter, she raised her fists and gave him a piercing look "I'm gonna ask you again, what did you do to my friend?"

"I didn't expect you to be actually like this…" he said.

"That's it!" she ran towards him, he didn't know about her true power though.

"Like a girl like you could actually…" he flew upwards and landed on his feet, sticking on a tree "What the…"

"Don't ever underestimate me…" she said "Who the hell are you?"

_She's grown stronger…much more than I expected…_he made a hand seal and said "In time…Sakura"

"What…?" she felt a piercing pain in her head as she clutched it, trying to ease the pain a little. It was a horrible feeling, she gathered her chakra in both her hands, now clutching tightly to her head, and healed herself a little. The technique worked, she gasped for air as she finished doing her jutsu. She looked up and saw it was nighttime…what had just happened?

"Sakura!" she heard someone call her name from behind, she saw her three other comrades approaching her.

"Sakura!" Neji, Hinata, and Shino all stood beside her looking worried.

"Sakura-chan, are you okay?" asked Hinata.

"Ye-yeah…why? What happened?"

"When we entered the forest, I suddenly lost track of you" said Neji "Especially since I was using my Byakugan"

"I…" she looked into her head for anything that had happened "I don't know exactly…the last thing I remember was seeing you Neji, and then…"

"What…?"

_In time…Sakura._ These words rang into her mind, she remembered the man she saw a while ago. Her thoughts were that he had cast an extremely strong genjutsu on her for her not to notice "N-nothing…nothing at all…"

_What do you mean 'nothing'? _her inner self screamed in her head.

"I see, we're headed back. Shino and I are going to check out the place a bit more, Hinata and you can rest. It'll be bad if something happened to you" said Neji as a suspicious look came from the corner of his eye.

"Sure, Hinata let's go" she said as she leaped away.

"Neji-niisan…" she whispered in a worried tone.

"Watch out for her" he whispered back.

"Got it" she followed Sakura back to the Hidden Mist. Currently they all had suspicions about Sakura now, all of them.

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They searched the Hidden Mist village for ten days straight, not even a stroke of luck had showered them. Nothing suspicious has happened, nothing, not even a clue. Sakura has felt less and less for Sasuke by the second, all she wanted now was to get this mission over with. Just as flowers fade, the fruits of summer fade, Sakura's blooming love for Sasuke was beginning to fade, ever so slowly. The thought that he had betrayed their country, the thought that he had killed others for this, the thought that Naruto was at the edge of death because of him, how could she say she still loved him, after all he has done? Confusion takes place, her mind questioning herself and vice-versa. How long shall she wait before she is released completely?

Sakura wondered the forest, for they will be traveling to the Tea Country next if they find nothing here. She leaped from tree to tree, looking for one last clue, a tiny little clue that might even lead them to him. Shino's bugs couldn't find him for some reason, Hinata and Neji's Byakugan were not even seeing him within any of the perimeters. So, this was the last day, yet of course a back-up plan was staying just in case he was still there.

"…" Sakura looked out to the cliff from the Hidden Mist, giving her a view of the whole village. Wind blew across her face and through her hair. The cold breeze told her that maybe, Sasuke was no longer here, at all. She used her chakra to sense him as best as she could…

_C'mon Sakura…calm down…you can do this…_she concentrated almost all her chakra in sensing him, yet, no luck _I should just give up...wait a sec…_

She picked up a very little sense of chakra near her, not too far, and not to near, but at a good distance, and very well hidden. She immediately threw a kunai in that direction as she turned with another kunai in hand to see who the perpetrator was.

"Who's there?" she said out loud "Answer!"

"Tsk, tsk, a little touchy…" a spine-chilling voice ran up her spine, the person, whoever he or she was, had a dark aura being emitted from this person. She let her mind wake up completely.

"Don't play with me, show yourself!" she spat out. Out of nowhere, she felt a hand run through her back, she panicked and turned around to see a man dressed in a black cloak, with red clouds, and he had the Sharingan.

"Sasuke-kun…?" she thought "No wait…your…Uchiha Itachi!" she backed away at a good distance as she prepared for a fighting stance.

"Do you really think you can beat me?" he said coldly.

"Hmph" she smirked "I won't know until I try"

_Goddamnit! I'm saying too many stupid things!_ she thought.

"You're acquainted with Uzumaki Naruto right?" he asked her directly.

"What does it matter to you?"

"I just wanted to make a deal, either you help me get him, or…I'll take your life" he said threateningly.

"…" she didn't reply. She knew he was beyond her limits, but she had to try. She jumped in the air and threw kunai and shuriken at him, the weapons suddenly became surrounded by fire and aimed everywhere. And when it hit the ground…an explosion.

"Did I get him…?" she asked herself.

"You're naïve" a voice came from behind her and Itachi was soon behind her. A hand grasped her neck and her body was lifted up in the air at Itachi's eye level. She choked, he tightened his grip, but then she had placed her hands on his arm. He didn't flinch, suddenly she tightened her grip, and she had broken his bones thanks to her strength.

"Shit…" he muttered _So this is what he meant by she's not to be looked down upon…_he let go and she avoided him.

"I shouldn't have underestimated you" he said "From now on, it's serious"

"I wanted that from the beginning" she said.

Itachi ran towards her with full force, Sakura decided not to use ninjutsu or genjutsu at the moment, to avoid looking into his eyes. She lifted her leg up as high as she could and did an axe kick on the ground. The ground split in the middle and aimed at Itachi, he quickly avoided it and made a bunch of hand seals _"Katon Housenka no Jutsu!"_

Several fire balls aimed at Sakura, she did a bunch of hand seals as well and made her own jutsu. Chakra formed on her right hand and swallowed up the fireballs. Itachi winced and landed on the ground, he took out a kage shuriken and threw it Sakura, Sakura dodged it, but the problem was it kept coming back at her several times. It was like he had chakra strings to control its movements. He did another bunch of hand seals and made the kage shuriken blaze with fire. Sakura did her best to avoid it, but another problem appeared, he created copies of the shuriken. Sakura was almost cornered when…She stood with her mouth open, Itachi had stopped the shurikens and only one had stayed. He made it disappear, and soon. He turned his back on her.

"Hey! Get back here!" she demanded.

"We both know the conclusion of this fight…" he said he turned around, Magenkyou Sharingan filled his pupils "…and you will forget this"

"Get off her Itachi!" a voice came from nowhere, someone in a black cloak had appeared in front of Sakura "Touch her one more time and you're dead"

"I didn't touch her, Sasuke"

_What? Sasuke?_ She thought.

"…today's not the day, little brother" a strong gust of wind came upon them, and Itachi disappeared in a bunch of leaves.

"Sakura are you alright-?" when Sasuke turned around Sakura had just given him a punch so hard he flew into a tree, and it snapped in half. He lifted his head up and looked at Sakura, with the same cold looks he had before. His hair had grown slightly longer, and he lost almost all of his baby fat. He grew some muscles, but not too much, once he looked cute, now he was just drop dead handsome.

"So much for a pleasant welcome" he said.

"Don't fuck with me!" she said "Did you expect I'd welcome you back with open arms? Did actually think that I would be happy to see you?"

"Sakura, I-"

"Shut up!" she said getting a kunai from her shuriken holster "I hate you so much Sasuke…I hate you for nearly killing Naruto…I hate you betraying the village…I hate for joining Orochimaru…I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" tears strolled down her cheeks as she began to cry.

"It was my mission to bring you back...alive" she held the kunai tighter "Even if I have to bring you two inches close to death"

A painful feeling shot up to Sakura, Sasuke punched her gut and made her fall in his arms.

"No…not again…" she muttered. Sasuke placed his finger on her back and looked for a spot below her neck, and pressed it as hard as he could. She fell asleep soon afterwards.

"I'm sorry…" he said as he laid her down by a tree. He looked at her features, a sensation built up in his chest. He gazed at her, she had grown into a beautiful young lady, her hair had re-grown to its original length, well a little longer. The memory of him leaving her with such hateful words must still be hurting her.

_Sakura…I…I didn't mean any of those words I said to you. I defeated Orochimaru Sakura, I killed him completely…_he thought _I didn't leave you, I never left your side Sakura. None of you knew…there were times I visited Konoha…I never betrayed Konoha, I'd never do the same thing my brother did._

The truth is, Sasuke never left her side, ever. He would come to Konoha once a year, just to see Sakura. There was a truth to it, it is true he joined Orochimaru, but only solely for power, and power alone. His power has surpassed one of the great sanins, and even killed one of them. He could kill Itachi anytime he wanted, but the guilt slowly crept upon him during the years. He truly wanted his revenge more than anything, but now he wanted to see Sakura. He slowly placed the tip of his fingers on her cheeks, her soft and delicate skin felt warm underneath his cold fingertips. His cold gaze, a face that shows no emotions, but his eyes tells it all. He knew Konoha was searching for him, he wanted to go back, but not just yet. He took out a piece of paper and crumpled it up; he opened Sakura's hand and placed it in her hand. He took one last look, and finally, left.

* * *

_Ah tenkiame no machi de_

_fui ni guuzen surechigau_

_Ah mioboe no aru SHATSU_

_masaka anata da nante_

(Ah in a city that is raining

we meet unexpectantly by accident

Ah the shirt I've seen before

I didn't know it was you)

_sou okubyou na watashi wa_

_jibun no koto shika mienakute_

_itsuka anata no yasashisa ni motare_

_amaeteta yo ne_

(Yes, a very timid me

I could only see myself

Someday, I was held by your kindness and

I was spoiled by you)

_kazoekirenai yoru o koete_

_taisetsu na mono ni kizuita_

_kitto kitto mou mayowanai_

_hitomi wa ima anata dake o miteru_

(Passing countless nights

I noticed about something important

Probably, I won't get lost again

I am only looking at you now)

_nee TORABURU mo nayami mo_

_zenbu anata ni wa hanaseta_

_Ah juwaki no mukou gawa_

_nukumori o kanjiteta_

(Troubles and problems

If I could tell you everything

Ah on the other side of the phone

I felt warmth)

_mou gairoju no hikari ga_

_"daijoubu" to senaka oshiteru_

_sotto kizuite kureru you ni_

_akai kasa o yurashita_

(The outlining light

Pushes me saying "it's okay"

Just like noticing slowly

The red umbrella was shook)

_tsugi no SHIGUNARU kawaru mae ni_

_watashi kara koe o kakenakya_

_kimochi dake ga kakedashiteku_

_mizutamari hajiite_

_konna ni hiroi sora no shita de_

_kamisama ga kureta guuzen_

_nagai nagai tomadoi kara_

_nurikaetai kore kara no kisetsu o_

(Before the next signal changes

I have to call him first

Only my feelings are running out

Splashing the puddles

Under this broad sky

The coincidence that god gave

From the long, long confusion

I want to change the seasons now)

_SHIGUNARU kawaru mae ni_

_watashi kara koe o kakenakya_

_kimochi dake ga kakedashiteku_

_mizutamari hajiite_

_kazoekirenai yoru o koete_

_taisetsu na mono ni kizuita_

_kagayakidasu keshiki no naka_

_chikazuiteku massugu ni anata e_

(Before the next signal changes

I have to call him first

Only my feelings are running out

Splashing the puddles

Passing countless nights

I noticed about something important

In the shining sight

Getting closer, straight to you)

_**The End

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**_

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**KLiC: **Damn it! Another short chapter! I gotta make the next one longer…I can't take this, I'm losing a lot of inspiration. Oh yeah, I'm really sorry for not updating soon enough. I got caught up in school and I had a lot of things to study for, a lot seriously. School is evil, too evil, even more evil than me. Never mind, anyway thanks for helping me in this fan fic with the deciding and stuff. I promise I'll try and update as soon as possible.

_**Signing out**_

"**_Chapter Three: Parcourez"_**


	4. 3rd Plot: Parcourez

_**Thank you reviewers!**_

**haruno-hirei: **Thanks, I'll keep it up!

**Redwillow123: **Thanks, here's the update!

**EnV:** Hehe…okay. It's slightly ItaSaku but of course, there's mostly SasuSaku in it.

**aluyanSakura#2: **Thanks! Sakura might, or might not fall in love with Sasuke again. Who knows?

**itaxsakuxsasu: **Of course I'll end it, that's why I make stories. Thanks, and here's the update.

**ChErRyBlOsSoMs-FlOwErOfDeAtH: **Sure, thanks for the review!

**Flames of Sadness Hurt and Betrayal: **Your name says it all. Thanks for the review!

**lady iniquity: **Thanks…wow…long review, _friend._

**Heartless Ghost: **Dude…the polls are already closed…but thanks for the review anyway! If you're wondering about the triangle, it's ItaSakuSasu…jaa nee!

**AnimeSenko: **Okay, sure, thanks for the review!

_**Author's Note: **Hey guys, I'm so sorry I didn't update this fan fic any sooner…I was kind of busy with my exams, projects, clearance, finals, you know school stuff that I barely had enough time left, even during the weekends. Not to mention I had a campaign during the time, which I lost (I don't really seem to care, my teacher just forced me to join). Then I had a huge writer's block and then I crashed and burned…meaning I became a lazy ass bastard for a week until inspiration hit me and then I wrote this chapter. Thanks you guys for supporting me through my last weeks…Now that it's my summer vacation I can write all I want (Yahoo!). Okay you don't care about my life now do you…on with the story!_

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_Far in the light, I can see it_

_In every scene of the night_

_A tiny feather of love_

_I gotta go_

_Destiny never finds the way for me, my love_

_Even in the night I see your face, in the dark_

_So I never lose my way to you_

_Never close my heart_

_The light is always there_

_Time goes by, we can never stay the same_

_Now we've come so far from love memory_

_Though your smile has gone, we will never be apart_

_In out hearts we are one, for love melody_

_The future arrives with your love_

_Willing to go to the place_

_Where you never need to cry_

_I'll take you there_

_Willing to find an answer_

_In all the winding road we have come through_

_In the heat of summer, cold of winter, I'm here_

_So you never lose your way to me_

_Never close your heart_

_Your light is always here_

_Time goes by, we can never stay the same_

_In the shades of hope, in love memory_

_Though your smile has gone, we will never be apart_

_In our hearts we can hear the love melody_

_The future still shines, close to you _

_(Time goes by, we can never stay the same_

_Though we've come so far, in love memory_

_Though your smile has gone, we will never be apart_

_In our hearts we can hear the love melody...)_

_Lalalalalalalala laalala..._

_The future still shines, close to you..._

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"_**Chapter Three: Parcourez"**_

The truth is, Sasuke never left her side, ever. He would come to Konoha once a year, just to see Sakura. There was a truth to it, it is true he joined Orochimaru, but only solely for power, and power alone. His power has surpassed one of the great sanins, and even killed one of them. He could kill Itachi anytime he wanted, but the guilt slowly crept upon him during the years. He truly wanted his revenge more than anything, but now he wanted to see Sakura. He slowly placed the tip of his fingers on her cheeks, her soft and delicate skin felt warm underneath his cold fingertips. His cold gaze, a face that shows no emotions, but his eyes tells it all. He knew Konoha was searching for him, he wanted to go back, but not just yet. He took out a piece of paper and crumpled it up then he opened Sakura's hand and placed it in her hand. He took one last look, and finally, left.

"_Sakura! Sakura! Sakura!"_ Sakura heard someone calling out her name in the darkness. She tried to look for where the voice was coming from, but to no avail. She looked down, and saw she was standing on a pool of a black and empty lake. She saw the ripples glisten in the light. Yet her reflection showed not the real her, but the person she was long ago…a meek and weak shinobi with a happy smile. The true her, showed a grown female Anbu member with a depressed face and power beyond what she could dream of.

The voice called again.

"_Sakura!"_ she looked around and tried to find the source of the voice. Yet in the pitch blackness there was nothing. She didn't know why, but she was looking for someone…someone very important to her…someone…that someone she cared for…

"Sakura! Wake up!" she woke up startled, sweat dripping down her forehead. She looked around her and found she was lying on a bed in the inn she was sleeping in. She sat up and found Hinata, Neji and Shino all settled around her.

"Wh-what happened?" she asked.

"We found you unconscious in the forest" said Hinata "What happened there?"

"I…" everything came back to her like a boomerang. She remembered Itachi, Sasuke, and the battle. Yet…

"I was attacked by Uchiha Itachi" said Sakura _Talk about finding the wrong person…_

"What?" they all said in surprise.

"It was a good thing he kept you alive" said Neji.

"Yeah…" she replied clutching the sheets of her blanket. She felt something in her hand, she felt paper. Again, she decided not to show it to them.

"I've just received news from Hokage-sama" said Neji "There had been several sightings now of Uchiha Sasuke in different countries. She has already sent out more ninjas to look for him. Right now, she wants the four us to take different countries and look for him there. Shino, you'll be looking in the Rice Country"

"Yes" he replied.

"Hinata, you'll be looking in the Stone Country"

"Right"

"Sakura, you'll be looking in the Tea Country"

"Got it"

"As for me, I'll be looking in the Bird Village" he explained "Tsunade-sama says these are the countries he was mostly seen in"

"When do we leave?" asked Hinata.

"Tonight" said Neji "As soon as possible"

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_My goal…_Sasuke leapt through the trees in the night, headed towards one destination, Uchiha Itachi _Is to kill a certain man…_

_Swoosh!_

_And the revival of my clan…

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Sakura was just about to finish packing her things that night. Neji and Shino had already left while Hinata was still with Sakura. Sakura stayed silent, not a word came out of her mouth, and Hinata became worried.

"Sakura-chan…" said Hinata "Are you alright with this?"

"Huh? What're you talking about?" asked Sakura, smiling.

"I mean, is it alright for you…that you're now alone looking for Sasuke?"

"…I can't say I am…" she said "As long as we get this mission over with, besides…who says I'll see Sasuke-kun in the Tea Country? For all I know he's in the Stone Country…"

_Sakura-chan…why…why do you like to hide your feelings so painfully like that? _Sakura's smile said she was happy, but her eyes told another story. She was still the same, she would pretend everything is alright while smiling; she would try so hard not to look sad so that others would not feel sorry for her. She had a painful light in her eyes, this light stayed there ever since Sasuke left. The light which showed a painful, bleeding heart, a heart which suffered the longing for a lost loved one. Yet now, she is still confused. She replayed the thoughts of what happened back then, when she saw Sasuke.

"Sakura-chan…I'll be leaving now" said Hinata.

"Huh? Yeah, sure" said Sakura "See ya"

Hinata nodded as she left Sakura alone. Sakura still had the piece of paper in her hand, and yet decided to open it for later. She finished packing, and finally left.

Then rain fell…

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His time to march in battle was drawing close, the time when his brother, Uchiha Sasuke, was ready to finally fight him in a fight to the death. Itachi knew of the power Sasuke had now owned, and he had to admit, he had never thought Sasuke could get this strong. Still, after having killed all the Akatsuki members, killing his whole family, even nearly killing his only living relative, he still showed no regret for what he has done.

He stared up at the sky, raindrops fell one after the other. He felt nothing, he regrets nothing, his moral code as a killer. He was now alone again, wandering endlessly upon a never-ending path of loneliness. He was yearning for something, yearning for some_one_…but why?

He then heard footsteps.

He turned into the direction where it was coming from. Then just as he was about to get a close glance at who that person was, the sun shone brightly…

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The radiant rays of the sun shone upon the path which our young pink-haired shinobi took. Wearing her Anbu uniform, she looked very quiet and mysterious. Her long pink hair was tied in a neat high ponytail, yet her face was concealed by a cat-like mask she wore. She had a long cloak that extended up to her ankles, and it had a hood which covered her head. All in all covered her identity almost completely yet the one thing she could not cover was her heart. The pain and guilt crept upon her bare flesh with the thought that she had finally seen Sasuke and had a million and one chances of catching him, but failed because once again, she let her emotions take over her. This time, she will never let such a golden chance slip away, even if it means she has to fight him.

Love turned to hate…longing turned to angst…tears of joy, happiness, pity, all turned to tears of hate, deceit, and anger…In other words, her feelings were being contrasted by all the darkness she held against Sasuke in the past and up to now. If it wasn't for this mission, she would never even try to look for him. All she wanted was for him to love her back, the same way she loved him. It would be too late now, too late for anything, too late for love…for our young Haruno blossom and Uchiha prodigy…yet this is not a tale for us to end, but a legend these two souls will create.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of rustling leaves in the bushes nearby. Pretending not to hear it, she took out a kunai from underneath her cloak as she casually walked forward towards the Tea Country. The rustling became louder and she heard it coming closer and closer at incredible speed. Once the being was closer, she turned around and prepared to attack. She calmed down at the being when she saw it.

A rabbit.

She silently laughed at herself. She took off her mask and hood and placed her hand on it's head.

"Now why were you following me around?" she smiled as she left the rabbit "I gotta go now"

"Hey…" came a voice from behind her.

"Hm?" she looked behind her and found someone very familiar.

"Is that you, Sakura?" it was Idate, the annoying guy with long brown hair tied in a ponytail. Team seven went on a mission with him a few years ago in which they had to guard him during a race.

"Idate…?" she said "It really is you! What're you doing here?"

"That's what I should be asking you, Naruto told me you were on a mission"

"Yeah well…wait a sec how did Naruto tell you?"

"Ask him yourself, he's back in the village"

"Really?"

"Yeah, c'mon I'll take you there"

"Thanks"

Idate led the way with both of them running the way any other ninja would. Dashing, Sakura thought she was finally going to be able to see at least one of her friends to comfort her in this mission. This mission was most painful to her, not because of Sasuke but because if she wasn't able to stop him before what made her think she would be able to stop him now. She hated the thought of what would happen if they ever encountered each other again, but it's not like Sasuke's in this village right? Who knew, and it's not like her guts are always right. After this mission, there's a possibility that Sasuke would come back to the village and things will go back to the way they were in the past…which is what she had always wanted. Knowing her position now, she took out her mask and put it on, for special reasons.

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_What's she doing here?_ An evil smirk came from the shadows. _This might get interesting…

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"Sakura-chaaan….!" Naruto came out of nowhere once Sakura and Idate entered the village gates. Naruto had his arms wide open ready to hug Sakura and being Sakura she…

"Naruto you idiot…!" her punch sent Naruto landing into a pile of rubble, which was once a pile of cement bricks.

"Sa-sa-sakura-chan…why do you have to be so cruel…?" he said as he felt his nose bleeding _Seems she's back to normal. _

"By the way Naruto, what're you doing here?" she asked him curiously.

"Well…there's a very weird strange story to that…"

_**Flashback…**_

_Naruto was strutting around Konoha with his hands rested on the back of his head. He had just gotten back from Ichiraku Ramen Shop and was hoping to do some training while he had no missions. He walked along the streets hoping to get his techniques worked up a bit. He walked casually with that usual foxy grin plastered on his face, which meant something all the time. Like now, he was thinking about getting stronger and stronger to be able to beat Sasuke and hopefully get him back._

_**CRASH!**_

_The ground began to shake as if and earthquake had just occurred. Then in front of him, he saw to giant red webbed feet which belonged to frog. This only meant on this to him._

"_Ah! Ero-sennin!" he screamed and point at the saw the old man with long spiky hair standing on top of the huge frog in front of him._

(Ero-sennin- perverted hermit)

"_Oi Naruto, long time no see!" he jumped back down from the frog as it vanished in a huge cloud of smoke. The old man carried a big scroll strapped to his back and a couple of red marks ran from his eyes._

"_Hey, Ero-sennin, what're you doing here?" he asked curiously._

"_I just got back from research in a faraway country. I thought I'd drop by and say hello"_

"_I see…by the way, do you have any new information on Sasuke?"_

"_Hm? Isn't the Anbu team searching for him?"_

"_Anbu is searching for him?"_

"_Oh shit…" Jiraiya muttered under his breath _Tsunade told me this mission was classified! Shit! Of all the people I thought Naruto would've known! Well…if he did he would've tagged along as well. Damn!

"_Anbu is searching for Sasuke and Tsunade no baachan didn't tell me!" he screamed "But that means…Sakura-chan is also looking for him"_

(Tsunade no baachan- granny Tsuande)

"_Hey Naruto, it was probably for the better. Besides…" he looked at Naruto seriously "If you came you would've just messed everything up since Anbu specializes in being discreet about missions like these. Not to mention prompt, active, observant, quiet, and they don't become naïve and rash like you!"_

"_Damn you! Is that supposed to make me feel any better, Ero-sennin!"_

"_Stop calling me that already!"_

"_Damn it…" he muttered as he suddenly made a mad dash towards Tsunade's office._

"_Hey Naruto where're you going!" Jiraiya called out._

"_I'm going to talk to Tsunade no baachan for not telling me!"_

"_Damn…I guess I can't stop him now" he said as a pretty and sexy woman just passed by "Hey…"_

_What else? He followed the woman and ended up with a bump on the head._

"_Tsunade no baachan!" Naruto slammed Tsunade's door open while she was doing some work with Shizune._

"_What is it this time?" Tsunade mumbled._

"_How come Sakura-chan and Anbu went on a mission to find Sasuke and you didn't tell me!" he slammed his fists onto her desk "Am I not good enough for you?"_

"_Naruto, calm down!" she screamed and Naruto stood there silent._

"_The reason why I took in Anbu is because Anbu specializes in being discreet about missions like these. Not to mention they are prompt, active, observant, quiet, and they don't become naïve and rash like you!"_

"_Err…" _That's exactly what Ero-sennin told me…

"_Naruto, I will allow you to follow up on this mission…"_

"_Really!"_

"_Yes, but you have to understand this mission must remain discreet. I guess you have heard about Orochimaru's downfall with his companions?"_

"…_yes…"_

"_Good, but we're not quite sure if there are still more spies out there, that's the reason why we want this mission to be quiet"_

"_I understand, but where do I come in?_

"_Let's see…Neji gave me his last report during the mission. The four of them split up into four different countries, Sakura being one of them" she rested her chin on her hands "You can follow Sakura who is now in the Tea Country, although I don't know if she is already there, you can go, but mess this up…"_

_An evil glint in her eyes glistened, and this made Naruto nervous._

"…_and you'll be cleaning the village for a month!"_

"_What?" his eyes became huge circles._

"_Understand?"_

"_Y-yes…"_

"_Now go! We don't have all day!"_

"_Yes" and he disappeared in a blur._

_**End of Flashback.**_

"..and that's exactly what happened" he explained. Sakura stared at him teasingly and giggled "I see, I thought you might've snuck in Tsunade-shishou's office"

(Shishou- a teacher whom you greatly respect, can be also used for elders)

"Of course not! Anyway why don't we go to the ramen shop here? It tastes great!"

"Naruto, there're other foods here besides ramen" said Idate.

"But it tastes really great!"

"Whatever, I'll leave you two for some time" Idate left them and headed in another direction.

"Hey Sakura-chan, how about if I help you find Sasuke on your mission?" he asked with a foxy grin on his face "This mission might really lead to something after all those other missions we had in the past"

"That's alright Naruto" said Sakura "I don't really need any help, but thank you for offering"

"But Sakura-chan…!"

"Naruto, this isn't a joke! If you go look for him you'll make a big mess about it and eventually if we find him you'll end up fighting him. Plus, this mission was given to me and my team, not to anyone else. Tsunade-shishou didn't tell you to look for Sasuke with me did she?"

"Well…not really…"

"So don't poke your nose around in other people's business ok?" she turned her back on him "This is my mission, and my mission alone. Do you understand?"

"Yes…" Naruto replied with a sad tone, but he truly understood how she felt. "I believe in you"

"Huh…?"

"I believe in you Sakura-chan, you're really strong and smart so I'm positive you'll find him!"

"Thanks Naruto…" she smiled as she looked at him.

"No problem, just remember I'll be here if you need any help at all"

"Sure, see ya" and she left.

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Sakura was yet again asking people around for information. Only a few seemed to remember him the last time she and her team were there. She even asked Idate and old clients about him, but to no avail. Some people became confused with all her asking, she had already asked half the village and everyone gave her the same reply, a simple no. Her body gave in after nine hours of asking around. She couldn't ask Naruto for help, even though he already knew her mission she didn't want him involved in it. Knowing Naruto he'll probably make a big fuss about it and it'll end up failing soon afterwards. Plus, she didn't want to have to witness another fight between people important to her. This mission felt like a chance to undo her mistake in the past, in which she let Sasuke pass in front of her own eyes and leave them alone, all because she was weak. Now she has another chance, and she has been reborn. She didn't want to live on regretting something like this ever again, never.

After all that researching she was doing, she decided to check out the village forest for a while. The forest nearly consisted of bamboo plants almost everywhere, it was a place where you could easily get lost, and yet she decided to check it out. She sensed the place out for anything suspicious objects, no nothing. She rested by the trees for a while. She leaned her back on the bamboo and took out a water jug and drank from it. She suddenly remembered the piece of paper she hid earlier on. She took it out from her pocket and took a look at it, it was blank. Feeling annoyed and at the same time crushed, she crumpled it up and placed it back in her pocket. Then an unexpected thing occurred. She looked behind her and spotted someone spying on her. She pretended she didn't see anything and closed the water just and acted natural. She stood up and walked forward again, this time she walked around the bamboo plants in circles. Once stopping, pretending she was tired, she smirked and pulled on something from under her cloak. Suddenly wires started moving around the places the walked and the bamboo started falling one by one. The reason she was walking around in different directions was to get a chance to spread the string around in different places while pretending to search. The bamboo pieces fell one by one, her smirk couldn't be seen from under her mask but it could be felt.

"You're good…" said a male voice.

"Thanks" she gathered up the wire again and stood in a fighting stance and remained alert for any sudden attacks.

"Looks like you've improved a little"

"Who are you?"

"Someone you're about to meet again" someone suddenly jumped out of nowhere and landed a good twenty seven feet away from Sakura. The long black cloak with red clouds had really got her attention. The straw hat he wore concealed his identity, but she knew this aura belonged to one man alone.

"Uchiha…Itachi…" she muttered "What're you doing here?"

"My little brother seems very much attached to you" he said "Sasuke seems stronger now than I used to know him, and he is almost as strong as me from what I have seen. His true potentials have finally awoken from within him, and it seems he wants to protect you"

"Ha! That's a laugh, why would he want to protect me?"

"That puzzles me too" he said "Maybe it's because he wants to revive the clan with someone…"

"What…?" she looked puzzled, but then snapped out of it "Do you know where he is right now?"

"It is very uncertain…unless you want to fight for it"

"…" she didn't know what to say. She stood there, ready for anything, and at the same time scared of what might happen to her.

The wind brushed against these two as the aroma of the battlefield suddenly wrenched both of their senses up. Now, one just had to start this duel anytime now…and the deed was done. Sakura threw several kunai from underneath her cloak and threw it at Itachi. Itachi jumped up and avoided the next flight of kunais coming his way. Sakura jumped in the air and did a bunch of handseals.

"_Ninpou, Butoukai no Houka Tora!"_ fire in the shape of a tiger came out of her mouth and surrounded Itachi.

(Ninpou, Butoukai no Houka Tora: Ninja Arts, Dance of the Fire Tiger. A technique which enables the user to spit out fire from his or her mouth and envelops the enemy in flame. The technique takes the form of a tiger, as if attacking the enemy violently and stealthily. A technique I invented, not really sure if I got the Japanese right though)

"Did I get him…?" she said as she landed on the ground. The flames seemed to get bigger and slowly she couldn't Itachi through it anymore.

"Weak…" she heard his voice through the flames and realized it wasn't over yet. Itachi jumped from within the flames and lunged at Sakura. She quickly blocked him with a kunai, she was now face to face with him. She realized this was her mistake…Itachi closed his eyes, and slowly reopened them. But something made him stop from doing this attack. He suddenly saw everything disappearing, everything…but this didn't fool him. He cancelled the illusion and looked around, she was gone.

"Looks like she escaped" he mumbled as he headed elsewhere.

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Sakura felt a heavy feeling in her head, not only that she felt she was flying with someone's arms around her. She opened her eyes to find herself being carried away, in the arms of the one she was looking for, Uchiha Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun…!" she said.

"Don't move" he said coldly "Or else…"

His eyes glared at Sakura coldly, telling her not to try and escape. She clearly understood this message and stayed quiet. Why was she in his arms? What happened? It came back slowly, she was fighting Uchiha Itachi and was about to be attacked by the Magenkyou Sharingan when suddenly…

_**Flashback…**_

_Sakura felt her like was about to end when Itachi slowly revealed his Magenkyou Sharingan. She prepared herself for the painful death, when out of nowhere, someone grabbed her from behind and knocked her unconscious. The last thing she saw was the face…of Uchiha Sasuke._

_**End of flashback.**_

She felt very awkward lying in his arms, in fact a slight tint of red could be seen. She tried to shake it off, knowing that she was trying to give up on Sasuke…but the feeling wouldn't go away. She looked at him once more, his features barely changed. His hairstyle was still the same, and he was still as handsome as ever. She wanted to ask him so many things right now, for this was one of the greatest opportunities she had always asked for, but not now. All she wanted was to hope that he would come back without a fight, or an unnecessary bloodshed. He stopped jumping and landed in front of a cave. He went inside with Sakura still in his arms and placed her against a warm fire which was already lit when they came in. It was the same cave they used when they helped out Idate.

"Sasuke-kun…I…" he turned his back on her and took out some bandages.

"Sasuke-kun…"

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Ye-yeah…ow!" she felt a slight pain on her arm and found it bleeding.

"You got that when Itachi threw a kunai at me"

"I see…" she couldn't say anything more. Sasuke sat beside her and held her arm while he wrapped the bandages around her arm.

"I see you made Anbu" he said.

"Yeah…"

The sounds of the fire crackling.

"How's Naruto and Kakashi?" he asked again.

"They're fine…Naruto is a jounin and he's teaching a bunch of students"

"I see"

Rain started falling.

"It started raining…" she said.

"Yeah"

Rain drops.

"Sasuke-kun…I-"

"Sakura…I'm sorry…"

Rain drops.

"What?"

"I'm sorry…for everything. For leaving…hurting Naruto…abandoning the village…and…hurting you"

"Sasuke-kun…"

"I know you can't find it in your heart to ever forgive me…but I don't mind…I just wanted to tell you that…"

"Sasuke-kun…why would you want to tell me that now?"

"…I never wanted to hurt any of you…I just wanted to defeat Itachi. Now that I can…I can't seem to do it"

"Sasuke-kun…I understand how you feel. Right now revenge is the only thing that matters to you right? That's why you left us, for your family's sake. I know that it really hurt, and that we were all slowing you down…and that you didn't care about any of us…"

"That's not true" he said.

"What?"

Thunder.

"Ah!" Sakura jumped and landed on Sasuke's chest. She realized her position right now and wanted to move away, but Sasuke's arms suddenly wrapped around her.

"Sakura…I'm so sorry about all those horrible things I've said to you…I don't want to live regretting everything I've done…I don't' want to hurt anyone anymore all because of what I've done to you. I can't take it anymore…"

"Sasuke-kun..." her mind showed her images of everything that team seven had done together, and the time she helped Sasuke during the chuunin exams. The time she cried, running into Sasuke and embracing him, avoiding further flow from the cursed seal. That moment lasted the longest in her mind as tears began to fall "…it's alright…I don't care anymore of all those things you did…I just wanted to see you again"

"Me too" he said "Sakura…I love you"

Sakura's eyes opened widely as he placed his hands to her face and wiped away her tears.

"Do you forgive me?"

"…yeah" she nodded and smiled happily for the first time. The light which was once gone from her eyes, had now come back. She was happy. He leaned in and closed his eyes, and Sakura did the same. Before they knew it, their lips were locked in a passionate kiss. The love they lost was found once again, and they shared it together, for the first time.

_**End of Chapter.

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_Can you forgive me again?  
I don't know what I said  
But I didn't mean to hurt you_

_I heard the words come out  
I felt that I would die  
It hurt so much to hurt you_

_Then you look at me  
You're not shouting anymore  
You're silently broken_

_I'd give anything now  
to kill those words for you_

_Each time I say something I regret I cry "I don't want to lose you."  
But somehow I know that you will never leave me, yeah._

_'Cause you were made for me  
Somehow I'll make you see  
How happy you make me_

_I can't live this life  
Without you by my side  
I need you to survive_

_So stay with me  
You look in my eyes and I'm screaming inside that I'm sorry._

_And you forgive me again  
You're my one true love  
And I never meant to hurt you

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**KLiC 015: **How was that? Did you guys like it? I became really sucky I know…but my fingers are cramping so live with it. Review okay?

_Signing out_

**Songs used**

**"Tsubasa" **by FictionJunctionKAORI

**"Forgive me"** by Evanescence

"_**Chapter Four: Destinée"**_


	5. 4th Plot: Destinee

_**Thank you Reviewers!**_

**Kyo1213: **Sure…it already is. Guess you didn't read the author's notes well. Thanks for reviewing anyway.

**EnV: **Well…she is and she will, lol. Thanks for the review.

**Heartless Ghost: **Thanks, you'll find out in this chapter by the way. And if you didn't see the previous chapter, it was blank.

**Broken and Fallen Angel of Death: **Okay, sure, whatever. Thanks for the review!

**els1321: **I get it. Thanks for the review!

**EvilSithGirl: **Yeah, there's ItaSaku coming soon. Thanks for the review!

**55Itachi88: **Sure, thanks for the review!

**Redwillow123: **I know, Evanescence is my all time favorite band. Thanks for the review!

**Lady ininquity: **I dunno if that was a compliment or a nasty reaction. You're still a bitch to me, f…f…f…fr….friend… (note: to those who think she is a flamer who I hate, she's not, she's one of my best friends. I think she is…who cares about her anyway)

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto. If I did, I'd let Sakura become stronger, become paired with Sasuke, and her hair color would change. Naruto would be paired with Hinata. Kakashi would tell us what Icha Icha Paradise is all about, Lee wouldn't be butt ugly, and Gaara-kun would be mine. Hehe…

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_There's a traveler_

_with a gentle gaze_

_whose cheek, wet with rain,_

_smelled of tears_

_Nostalgic music_

_echoes in the silence_

_My forgotten memories wander about_

_"Dreaming" is flying away on tiny wings_

_Together, the two of us will go_

_to the place to which my memories disappeared,_

_crossing the distant sea, the sky…_

_Shine on me_

_in the dark of night_

_I want to see you,_

_with your_

_gentle gaze..._

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"_**Chapter Four: Destinée"**_

"Sasuke-kun..." her mind showed her images of everything that team seven had done together, and the time she helped Sasuke during the chuunin exams. The time she cried, running into Sasuke and embracing him, avoiding further flow from the cursed seal. That moment lasted the longest in her mind as tears began to fall "…it's alright…I don't care anymore of all those things you did…I just wanted to see you again"

"Me too" he said "Sakura…I love you"

Sakura's eyes opened widely as he placed his hands to her face and wiped away her tears.

"Do you forgive me?"

"…yeah" she nodded and smiled happily for the first time. The light which was once gone from her eyes, had now come back. She was happy. He leaned in and closed his eyes, and Sakura did the same. Before they knew it, their lips were locked in a passionate kiss. The love they lost was found once again, and they shared it together, for the first time.

The both felt the raging fire of the passion they were sharing. She had finally gotten her wish, to be together with her first, and one true love. She felt his cold luxurious lips clinging to her own soft and warm lips. He finally felt happiness take over him, after many years of straying in the darkness all alone, he felt his small light of hope coming back little by little. Nothing could possibly compare to the pain of the waiting these two had to endure to be together again. All those years of rejection, suffering, tears, blood, and pain, had all healed with a single kiss.

They both separated from their moment. She looked into his empty onyx eyes, which was now filled with a tiny spark of light that shined amongst the darkness. He looked into her peaceful jade orbs, now once again filled up with the light she always had before. He placed his hand behind her head and placed it on top of his chest. She felt the warmth being emitted from his body, she felt safe and comfortable. He felt her soft cheeks attached to his chest, how he had longed for this feeling, to be by the woman he loves. They broke apart, with his hands placed on her arms. He looked at her sincerely and looked like he wanted to ask her something.

_Sasuke-kun…thank you…_her mind gave her images of a brighter future that would come for her, for Sasuke, for them. She hoped that Sasuke would forget all about his revenge and just remain happy in Konoha forever.

"Sakura…I know you think that, things would be the same as before…" he said slowly.

_I knew it…he could never have given up on revenge…_she thought to herself as some of the hope she had was slowly vanishing.

"You don't need to tell me" she said softly "You still want your revenge right?"

"Sakura…"

"You'll never be able to defeat Itachi if you hang around with us any longer, so it's best if you left again right?"

"I betrayed my village, left everyone important to me, I even put my friend's life on the line…I don't want those things to just be memories of a failure I did" he said "After this, I'll go search for Itachi then finally, I'll kill him for sure"

"So you really are going to leave again…" pools of sadness suddenly started dancing in her eyes. She knew this would happen, she knew that this could never be avoided. Her voice lightened and she looked at him "Just promise me one thing…"

"What is it?"

"That you'll come back without us looking for you, by yourself, with no one else" she said as a smile crossed her face "Come back to the village with your own will and strength, promise?"

"I don't know that…"

"Promise me" she said both seriously and threateningly.

"If I promise you that, will you shut up?"

"Maybe"

"Hn…" he took out a kunai and slashed a scar onto his arm, feeling no pain.

"Hey!" she was surprised by his action.

"See this scar?" he showed her his bleeding arm as if it were a toy "As long as this scar remains on my arm, it means that I have not fulfilled my promise to you. It will serve as my reminder that I shall return to you"

"Alright…" she smiled sweetly. She felt that he would definitely keep his promise. She took out a piece of white cloth and wiped it on Sasuke wound. He watched her treat his wound so gently, he also saw her eyes gleam a little, even though it was dark. He could feel safe with her, and that she would never betray him. Because they loved each other, though they are young, they have extremely

She suddenly remembered something "A few days ago when we saw each other, you gave me a piece of paper" she took it out and gave it to him "What's in this thing?"

"You're such an idiot, you didn't even figure out how to read it being a ninja" he said as he opened it up. He let some of his chakra flow into the piece of paper, the piece of paper suddenly started to show off some letters written on it. It said 'Please wait for me'.

"You could've just written it down" she said.

"I wanted to know how you'd figure it out" he said as they both silently stared into the fire.

Moments passed and they just stayed silent, enjoying the time god has given them to be together. She laid her head on his shoulder while he just simply held her hand. They praised god in their minds for giving them such a great opportunity. The flames in front of them danced as if knowing this glorious moment.

"You know, Sasuke-kun…" she started "I was very weak before I met you. Someone would always do things for me. Someone would fight for me, like Naruto, someone would cook for me, guide me, and even protect me even though I'm a ninja. I realized that, I wasn't being of any help to anyone, especially when you left Konoha. All I did was cry…that was all I could do. You gave me the strength to do many things Sasuke-kun…I guess when you left, it made me realize how important you are to me. When I was alone, I decided that I should become stronger, and I thought it would've helped me to forget about you. I guess I couldn't…Sasuke-kun, it was you who made me stronger and taught me to stand on my own two feet instead of depending on others"

"Are you sure it was me who made you stronger?" he smiled teasingly "I thought I was the one that hurt you…"

"You didn't…well only a little" she said as he felt his hand tightening around her small fingers.

"Hey Sasuke-kun…I was wondering, what happened to Orochimaru's lair? Why was everything in it destroyed? And why was he dead? Who killed him?"

Sasuke feared she would ask this sooner or later. He didn't want her to know what truly happened back there, all the bloodshed that occurred in that horrible place. He knew, she would never like him again if he told her the truth behind everything that happened there. Yes it would be pleasing to the ears if she found out that he had killed Orochimaru, but the next story would definitely shock her.

"Sasuke-kun?" she noticed he was staring blankly into space.

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing…" he said.

"…it's alright if you don't want to tell me" she said "I don't mind really"

He looked at her, with both the expressions of relief and comfort. She knew that the story really didn't seem that nice, and it also didn't seem like a cherry on top of a great sundae either. Knowing Sasuke and Orochimaru, the truth behind the scene wasn't always pretty. She figured by the expression on his face that something really bad happened and that he didn't want anyone to know about it yet. She wanted all his pain to go away, by bringing up painful memories it wouldn't help much. Her love for him was infinite; she didn't want him to feel anymore pain than what he already felt. She didn't want him to go through anymore hardships and regretful feelings, all the loneliness he felt, she wanted it all to go away. All she wanted was to be with him, to see him, to become one with him. Love could bring a person to the extreme, in Sakura's case; she could do that same thing.

"Sasuke-kun, do you want to go back with me?" she asked him.

"…" his cold eyes remained the same, showing no reaction.

"Itachi might still be out there…the only thing I want now, is for you to be happy. If you don't want to go, it's fine with me, as long as your mission will be completed and you're happy" she put on her fake smile again, showing such painful feelings by just one action.

_I hate it when she smiles painfully like that…_he thought to himself as he looked at her calm features. He examined her closely, knowing her she would cry hard once he turned his back. She would let it all out by herself and have everyone worried about her. He didn't want her to feel any more loneliness and painful falling tears which was all for him.

"Will it be alright with you if I left once again?" he asked her.

"Yeah, as long as you get what you want" she smiled.

"…Sakura…"

"But after one condition"

"What is it?"

"You will come back to the village here with me and see Naruto, at least for one night"

"If I do that, you'll be okay with everything?"

"Yup"

"Just one night, that's it" she said _Then you will leave me alone again…_

"Whatever" he said.

"Thanks" she said as she looked outside "It stopped raining now"

"Seems that way…" he said in a bored tone.

"Okay then, let's get going" she said as she stood up.

"Why now?"

"It's almost sunset, you said you'll stay with us even for night right?"

"Tse, you're as annoying as always"

"And you're just as stubborn as usual" she answered back.

She reached out her hand for him to hold. He looked at her hand, then to her smiling face. Her face seemed to shine in the sun, of course it would, and it always did bring a certain light to everyone she met. He took her hand and stood up from where he was sitting down in and began his final journey with Sakura. He was happy just now, even though he knew it would last only a few hours, he was happy. She knew that this moment wouldn't last forever, but she'd make every moment of it feel like and hour. They both did not want to be separated anymore, but fate would change such a thing. Things would've been different only if Itachi hadn't done what he did, if only he let Sasuke remain as happy as he was, he wouldn't ever have to go through such a painful life and be separated from the one he loved. Everything would've been different if Itachi just stayed the older brother Sasuke wanted him to be. As they walked together through the forest, they held each other's hands tightly, as if they would become lost without each other. Her face shined radiantly in the sun as her sparkling green orbs glistened under the sunlight. Her smile remained on her face, just for him and only him. His eyes displayed a light which was once lost, now partially regained through the smile of one woman.

What they didn't know was there was dark being hiding beneath the shadows of the forest. Sunset, it was the best time for a stalker to be hiding. Wait, let me rephrase, it wasn't a stalker, but a cold blooded killer whose name sent a chill down the spine of even the strongest shinobi. His eyes of blood red showed many hardships he had went through, all the innocent lives he had taken so coldly without hesitation. He even killed his own parents and made his only sibling suffer internally, leaving scarred for life. Yes, this homicidal fool now longed for an opponent who came as a challenge. His brother would make one of the most excellent enemies, he was already as strong as he was, but killing his brother would make the Uchiha blood line extinct, it's not like he cared. Uzumaki Naruto…he longed to feel the chakra of a jinchuuriki. The power it held within it's body was as they would call, a pleasant feeling. He followed them silently in the shadows, avoiding himself to look conspicuous in any way possible. He wanted an enemy, someone worthy enough to be called a true rival. Sakura…he remembered seeing her once when he picked up Sasuke from the academy. Judging from the time he saw her then, she looked amazing now. Her body showed off curves any man would desire and die for. She seemed more mature now than before, he saw her as one of Sasuke's fan girls. It looked like she was the lucky one to have Sasuke. Yes she was a good-looking woman, but for some reason ever since she first fought him, she would suddenly pop into his mind. Why? He was a cold-blooded killer who killed his own parents and it never bothered him once. Yet still, he couldn't even kill this woman…

_**Flashback…**_

_The wind brushed against these two as the aroma of the battlefield suddenly wrenched both of their senses up. Now, one just had to start this duel anytime now…and the deed was done. Sakura threw several kunai from underneath her cloak and threw it at Itachi. Itachi jumped up and avoided the next flight of kunais coming his way. Sakura jumped in the air and did a bunch of handseals._

"_Ninpou, Butoukai no Houka Tora!" fire in the shape of a tiger came out of her mouth and surrounded Itachi._

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"_Did I get him…?" she said as she landed on the ground. The flames seemed to get bigger and slowly she couldn't Itachi through it anymore._

"_Weak…" she heard his voice through the flames and realized it wasn't over yet. Itachi jumped from within the flames and lunged at Sakura. She quickly blocked him with a kunai, she was now face to face with him. She realized this was her mistake…Itachi closed his eyes, and slowly reopened them. But something made him stop from doing this attack. He suddenly saw everything disappearing, everything…but this didn't fool him. He cancelled the illusion and looked around, she was gone._

"_Looks like she escaped" he mumbled as he headed elsewhere._

_**End of flashback.**_

_That time…I couldn't seem to kill her when we were face to face. I was about to use Magenkyou Sharingan, but something in the back of my head stopped me…what was it? Could it be…no, it couldn't. I won't allow myself to feel inferior to the likes of a woman. _He thought to himself. _The only way to know the truth…is that I kill her myself.

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Sasuke and Sakura walked into the village, hand in hand. Night had already fallen, and they didn't expect anything surprising to happen, until…

"Oi! Sasuke-teme!" they heard a scream from afar. They both looked at what it could be, of course it was Naruto waiting for Sakura, well it really surprised him to see Sasuke with her.

"Dobe, long time no see" he said as Naruto approached them.

"Same to you" Naruto's eyes showed a small glint of joy when he saw Sasuke. His best friend finally returned, well not to Konoha yet but he returned. Then he noticed Sasuke and Sakura holding hands, being as insensitive as he is, he yelled out something embarrassing.

"Wow! I didn't know you liked Sakura-chan!" he said.

"Huh…?" the two blushed and remembered they were holding hands and immediately detached themselves.

"Geez, Sasuke you're way too slow" he said "Anyway you owe me a fight bastard! Making us worry about you so much! Sheesh you nearly gave us all a disease just looking for you!"

"Sure, I'll take you on any time you want" he said "I remember during our last fight…I won right?"

"I was tired back then! Plus I came from another fight so I was low on chakra"

"Sure make excuses, dobe"

"Don't call me dobe, bastard!"

"Hey you two…" said Sakura as she came in between them "Sasuke-kun just came back so why don't we celebrate for a while?"

"Hm, you're right I guess" said Naruto "Why don't we have some ramen?"

"Sigh…even after all these years all you think about is ramen" said Sasuke.

"Shut up! Besides we always ate like that, so why don't we? For old times sake"

"Whatever…" that meant a 'yes' from Sasuke.

"So then, it's decided" said Sakura "Lead the way Naruto"

"Great! Follow me!" he said leading the way.

"Naruto…you're so hyper" said Sakura as she and Sasuke walked together, side by side behind Naruto.

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Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura stood in front of a small, yet a very pleasant looking place. The three friends entered the place with Naruto in front. Naruto wanted to jump on Sasuke and beat him to a pulp for leaving Sakura in tears like that, and for betraying Konoha, and nearly causing the death of his friends. Although his guts were telling him to do so, his brain wouldn't let him, he knew better. Besides, what good would killing Sasuke be when he's been looking for him for nearly eight years? He was just happy to have his best friend back. These two are very good friends, in their own way, it wouldn't be a surprise why they wouldn't miss each other that badly. They could cry if they wanted to, of course men will be men, and tears don't make the man in some other stranger's words. They looked for a seat in the restaurant and found one beside the wall. There were two benches on either side of the rectangular table in the middle. Sasuke sat beside Sakura, while Naruto sat on the other bench. Each one took a menu that was placed there by a waitress who just came by.

"What're your orders then?" asked the red haired waitress who had her hair in a couple of buns at the side of her head.

"Man this is great!" said Naruto excitedly "What do you guys want? It's on me"

"Okay then, I'll have deep fried yakisoba" said Sakura "What about you Sasuke-kun?"

"The beef ramen sounds good" he replied.

"You got that?" Naruto asked the waitress.

"Yes, what about you sir?"

"Uhm…two pork ramens, five seafood ramen, and three beef ramen. Oh and throw in some fried shrimp" he said, not noticing the waitress' shocked face.

"O-okay…you're order will be coming in a while" she replied as she left.

"Naruto, can you really eat all that?" asked Sakura.

"Sakura, have you forgotten my fifty seven continuous ramen order record?" said Naruto.

"Oh yeah…" she then looked to Sasuke "He made that up himself. He won in a gamble with Jiraiya-sama once and ate all that ramen with the money"

"Naruto, I guess ramen will always be a part of you right?"

"Oh shut up…anyway Sasuke, how did you and Sakura-chan get together so fast?"

"Wh-what?" they both blushed at his question.

"C'mon…it took me and Hinata a year to admit we loved each other"

"You and Hinata are together?" asked Sasuke.

"Yeah, Sakura-chan kept on rejecting me so I moved on to Hinata-chan"

_**Inner Sakura: **Bastard! You don't need to tell everyone! _

"I understand now why she kept rejecting me back then" he said _It's because of you, Sasuke…you bastard._

"Don't say such stupid things!" said Sakura.

"You know what Sasuke, she even rejected five other suitors"

"So?"

_**Inner Sakura: **Naruto…_

"She rejected me for six years straight!"

"Doesn't surprise me"

_**Inner Sakura: **Don't test me…_

"She also rejected fuzzy eyebrows"

"Do I really have to be shocked there?" he said sarcastically.

_**Inner Sakura: **Oh that's it…a little more and you're shinobi food!_

"Yeah definitely no surprise why fuzzy eyebrows dumped Sakura" he said as he crossed his arms "I mean, Tenten is kinda prettier than Sakura, and she's got a better looking body…"

_**Inner Sakura: **That's it! He's dead!_

"Naruto…" Sakura was emitting a very dark aura now, and had the scent of a murderer lurking inside of her.

"Sa-sakura-chan…I me-mean I uhm…I…I…" he sweat dropped and had blue markings on his face.

"NAA-RUU-TOO!" Sakura snapped and punched Naruto squarely on the jaw, burying him under the bench, which was snapped in half, and then down to the bottom of the floor, as in deeper than the floor. Sakura stood on top f the table with her fist in Naruto's face. Sasuke sweat dropped.

_She definitely changed physically, but not mentally. _He thought to himself.

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A silent killer peeked through the hollow openings of tree branches, slowly watching his prey, watching, stalking, longing to know what kind of prey he would hunt upon. He watched her smile radiantly as her green orbs sparkled under the moonlight. She was now taking a walk with someone he knew, his only brother. Sakura smiled while she watched Sasuke walk beside her.

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Sakura and Sasuke walked along the shoreline of the Tea Country. Feeling joyful that she gets this one chance to be with Sasuke, is enough for her to know that she's safe and sound. Knowing that it would only last one night, one fateful night, she makes the best of it by spending every second of it with Sasuke, her one true love. The two sat on the white sand, feeling it press below them. Sasuke raised his arm and placed on Sakura's shoulder, letting her rest on his shoulder peacefully. The light breeze from the ocean whipped against their faces, such a refreshing wind felt so perfect for this moment. His warm and yet at the same time cold fingers gave her a dazzling feeling of security and happiness. One night alone with this man, it was more than she could ask for, more than she dreamed about, more than she could hope for.

"Sakura…" Sasuke spoke all of a sudden.

"Yes?" she looked at him with a sparkle in her eyes. He wanted to ask her something very personal, but something stopped him from doing so. In the back of his throat there was chain pulling his tongue from saying anything else. He looked into her soft gentle eyes; she owned the eyes of a person who could never endure standing on her own. Her smile nearly faded when he left the village, yet what he was about to ask didn't have anything to do with that matter. She had been through too much, even after coming face to face with many different enemies, she still had the will to smile. Yet he knew he had to wait, just a little more, a little more and it'll go back to the way it was.

"Yes?" she repeated herself noticing Sasuke had suddenly begun to look blankly at her.

"Huh?"

"You were gonna tell me something"

"Oh, well I uhm…" he thought a little more _It's too early…I can't let her know that just yet. Maybe after I come back…with Itachi's head on a silver platter. _"It's nothing…"

"You sure?"

"Nothing at all…really" he said as he looked out to the sea once more.

"Hm…" she mumbled a little. Knowing Sasuke, he'll probably keep these kinds of things locked up as usual, but she didn't mind. Sasuke was Sasuke, even if a millennia passed, it was impossible he would ever change.

"Hey Sasuke-kun…" she said "You know, Naruto really missed you a lot"

"Yeah, so what?"

"He's been saying he has wanted to settle a fight with you or something like that"

"Tse, I knew that dobe couldn't last a day without fighting with me"

"C'mon, give him chance" she said enthusiastically.

"I dunno…"

"I'm sure Naruto will really appreciate it" she said _And he'll probably start it five seconds afterwards._

"…fine" he said "It's still early anyway, you'll be fine on your own right?"

"Don't worry about me, if Naruto finds out your leaving tomorrow he'll probably guard the door and tie you to your bed or something. If you don't do it today he'll want to do it tomorrow, you know how he gets by. "

"Alright, see ya" he stood up from where he was seated and headed back towards the village.

"See ya" s she watched him leave, she felt enlightened that she was able to convince him to go stay with Naruto for a while. She didn't want to make Sasuke be with her all the time, he had too much to repay. Naruto would go crazy if Sasuke left tomorrow, so she wanted to make the best of his one night stay. He'd come back to her anyways, she knew that. The wind's gentle breeze clung onto her skin, she bet a whole lot of stuff that Naruto and Sasuke will come back with wounds and bruises as always.

"That'd be a laugh" she said to herself.

"You don't seem to be laughing…"

"Who…?" she turned around and saw someone very familiar to her already. It was a very good surprise because she didn't even sense his chakra until he talked behind her back. She hastened her movements and hurriedly tried to do a Chinese get-up, but unfortunately he was faster than her and grabbed her wrist and tightened his grip around her small frail wrist. He twisted it until it pained her and held her other hand the same way while placing his foot on her back until she fell on her knees. She didn't squeal nor scream, she seemed to be taking in all the pain. Though she had an enormous amount of strength, he was too strong; he seemed to be stopping her chakra from giving her anymore strength. This scene gave a very nostalgic sound to it. It was almost the same as the time Sasuke broke Abumi Zaku's arms during the chuunin exam. Except, this wasn't the chuunin exam, Itachi was the one killing her, and they were completely alone. She felt it, this is her day of death, this is the day people would weep for her, the day when she would never see Sasuke again.

"I can't believe a weakling you who gets controlled by her emotions made Anbu…" Itachi smirked "Konoha must be really getting weaker"

"Gnh…say what you want…nothing will change if you kill me…" she talked while she was trying to hold in the pain "Ngnh…you're suffering aren't you…I know that your cold heart can also feel pain…AaAh!"

Itachi made her feel more pain. She didn't know what she was talking about, she had no right to talk about him that way, she didn't even know him. He could kill her right now and there, but why couldn't he? There was an annoying void trying to stop him from doing so. Out of annoyance, she threw her aside and she flew far and landed not too far away from him. She tried using her arms to lift herself up, but just before she could get up even higher, Itachi stepped on her head, sinking it lower into the sand.

"Don't ever talk as if you know everything" he said. He took off his foot and lifted her up using her hair. He looked at her pathetic face, small beads of tears began to form in her eyes, he smirked, she was just like any other weakling who would beg for their lives.

"So, you're going to beg for your life?" he said.

"N-never…" Itachi's eyes twitched "I wanted to become stronger…I wanted to become stronger so that I wouldn't rely on other too much…too become stronger so that…I could protect those close to me…" while saying this, she lifted her arms up and tried to grab on hold to Itachi's arm which was grabbing her hair. "I will never…go back to being that weakling…never…never…NEVER!"

She grabbed his arm in a flash and twisted it as hard as she could until he let go of her hair. She threw him aside and tried punching him anywhere she could; one punch sent him backwards at a fast speed. She immediately ran towards him and lifted up her fist to punch him one more time, but Itachi caught her fist barely stopping it. She tried punching him with her other hand, but at the same time Itachi caught it and ended up having his feet soaked in the salty water behind him. Sakura then jumped backwards and took in a deep breath. Then everything started becoming blurry, as if everything was turning upside down. She closed her eyes and opened them again, only to find herself with her hands behind her back. Itachi used a genjutsu on her. Itachi was holding her hands behind her, smirking.

"Goodnight…Sakura" he hit her below the shoulder and she was knocked unconscious. She fell forward on his arm, not uttering another word. She was now defenseless, no ways of fighting back whatsoever. He took out a kunai and prepared to stab her in the back to kill her, but once the kunai was over his head, something stopped him from doing so. Something didn't want him to forever lose her. He became annoyed. He put his kunai back and lay her down on the sand. He knelt beside her on one knee and observed her. It is true she is beautiful, she had a perfect body and gorgeous looks any man could ask for. This was the first time he noticed that she was beautiful. He had seen her with Sasuke for a while cloaking his presence, and even saw her alone sometimes. He noticed how her warm smile was able to melt Sasuke's cold demeanor. He saw how she smiled even though she was clearly hurt. He saw how she could smile through such hard times, and how she could think selflessly and think of other peoples' happiness besides her own. It wasn't a surprise why Sasuke fell in love with her, she was the sunlight in a void full of darkness and despair. Whenever she cried it felt very hard for others to take in. It's too bad though, because Itachi knew that deep in his heart, he could never have her. Darkness, it has been in his heart ever since he was born. The small ray of light he was born with slowly faded away into nothing…and it was only now that it was able to return once more to this cold-blooded killer.

_No matter how much I would want to change, I will never be given a second chance…_

And so with those painful thoughts in his mind, he left her with a small peck on her lips...

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_The day the cherry blossom fluttered down, I smiled and took a step forward_

_Our shoulders collided at my home station, I shook your hand, and morning came as always_

_Light hit the classroom, gentle sunlight carried by the wind, softly wrapping around us_

_I took a nap around one, and remembered you, but the alarm clock's chime woke me up_

_It's been a while since I looked through this photo album, on the last page_

_the words "Do your best" stand out, even now, they motivate me_

_Because you were in my life, I had plenty of smiles_

_Because you are in my life, I can always be my own gentle self_

_Unchanged bonds, unfading memories, they continue, it's the Eternal Way_

_I wash my hands under the faucet, water splashing, a rainbow is suspended over the campus_

_I thought, perhaps if one day I could say the words I never said, it's better than not ever saying them_

_In the middle of a dream, I knew, the feelings I had that they, weren't lies..._

_but regardless of the memories, we can't blame each other if we strayed off_

_Because you were in my life, my heart was hot with tears_

_Because you are in my life, even now I can be my own gentle self_

_Bound by your smile, this moment will continue, it's the Eternal Way_

_Unchanged bonds, unfading memories, they continue, it's the Eternal Way_

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**Author's Notes: **Okay uhm…I hate this chapter it was very suckish to me. But it's all in your opinion if it was suckish or not.

**PS: **To those who thought really sick and horrible SasuNaru things in this chapter…don't! I was only describing their friendship, I hate yaoi and everything hentai so don't say anything nasty to me, got it? Good.

**Songs used:**

"**You are my Love" **by Yui Makino _(OST: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles)_

"**Kimi ga ita Kara" **by Yellow Generation _(OST: Full Metal Alchemist)_

_**Don't forget to send me some beautiful reviews, okay guys? Just click on that little "GO" button over there and type in a little message for me would ya? Thanks!**_


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